Broncos assistant head coach Mike Westhoff, who helped oversee the turnaround of the special teams unit the past two seasons, is resigning for medical reasons, he announced Tuesday.
Westhoff, 76, began experiencing blurry vision in a team meeting last week. He coached in Sunday’s game in Kansas City and then underwent a battery of tests Monday, including an orbital MRI. After consulting with head coach Sean Payton over the next two days, Westhoff ultimately decided to resign.
“It’s not easy to make this decision, but this was a wake-up call that I needed to put my health first,” Westhoff said in a statement. “This team is very much headed in the right direction with a strong foundation and a winning culture. I’m grateful to Sean for giving me the opportunity to contribute to a first-class organization and wish the Broncos the very best.”
Westhoff is widely recognized as one of the top special teams coaches in NFL history, and he helped coach that unit alongside coordinator Ben Kotwica. Denver has had one of the league’s top units across the past two seasons despite its national blunder Sunday when Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal blocked Wil Lutz’s would-be game-winning kick from 35 yards.
The Broncos have already downed four punts at the 1-yard line this season, matching the highest total for a team in a season since at least 2000, according to TruMedia. Denver has enjoyed one of the best field-position differentials in the NFL, another testament to its work on special teams.
“If there was a Hall of Fame for special teams coaches, it would start with him,” Payton said.
Westhoff first coached special teams for the Baltimore Colts in 1982 and later became the coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. He was the special teams coordinator for the New York Jets from 2001 to 2012, helping lead the team to back-to-back AFC championship game appearances. After a five-year retirement, he worked with Payton in New Orleans for two seasons (2017-18). He ended another retirement in 2023 to join Payton’s coaching staff in Denver.
Westhoff is a cancer survivor who needed 10 surgeries to remove a tumor from his femur and repair it with bone grafts and metal plates. He was given the Ed Block Courage Award from the Dolphins in 1989 while continuing to coach full time.
Kotwica and assistant coach Chris Banjo will continue to lead Denver’s special teams this season.
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(Photo: Gabriel Christus / Denver Broncos via AP)
